Clippers center Serge Ibaka had never been in the G League before, but he thought it was the best way to get playing time after returning from offseason back surgery, writes Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times. The team already had an established center rotation with Ibaka out, as Ivica Zubac and Isaiah Hartenstein split time in the middle. Ibaka saw only eight and five minutes in his first two games, so he volunteered to join the Clippers’ Agua Caliente affiliate.
“At least if you’re Kawhi (Leonard) or Kevin Durant or Stephen Curry, those kind of guys they can sit for three years and they’re going to come back, (teams are) going to give them minutes, they’re going to give them — they’re going to try to get them their confidence,” Ibaka said. “At least if you are one of those guys, you can stay, but if you’re not one of those guys, one of those names out there, sometimes you have to work for yourself to go get your confidence because nobody is going to give you that.”
Ibaka was productive during his four games in the G League, averaging 15.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per night while shooting 43% from the floor. It was his first significant playing time in several months, as back issues limited him to 41 games last season and 18 total minutes in two playoff games. He believes he made a mistake by not having the operation on his back sooner.
“A lot of things were happening last year, a lot of information,” Ibaka said. “… Most important thing, I’m good and back, so I learned from that. I’m sure we all learned from that.”
There’s more Clippers news to pass along:
- Nicolas Batum is playing with a sore Achilles, but he doesn’t want to take time off because the team is already short-handed and facing a challenging part of the schedule, per Mirjam Swanson of The Orange County Register. “We miss so many key guys, we don’t have the luxury to really relax,” Batum said after Friday’s loss in New Orleans. “We don’t have Kawhi, we don’t have (Marcus Morris), we don’t have Serge yet. So we still really have to focus on those big leads, stay focused and keep playing the right way — don’t change the way we play.”
- Morris isn’t considering knee surgery, and his plans to recondition it haven’t changed since training camp opened, according to Law Murray of The Athletic. Morris, who hasn’t played since October 23, has been participating in five-on-five scrimmages and might be ready for the next homestand.
- There’s at least an even-money chance that Leonard will return before the end of the season, Murray speculates.
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